Welcome to MAPfrappe,
my interactive site for cartographic “mixtures.” I hope you find it interesting!

— Kelvin Thompson

Compare Geographic Sizes
Version 3.54.Last updated 12 May 2018.

Use this page to compare sizes of different things in the world: cities, provinces, parks, buildings, countries, etc.
You draw an outline in the top map, and it appears overlaid the bottom map – at appropriate size.

For example, you can sketch an outline of California in the “Reference Map” below, and then overlay the outline over Italy in the “Comparison Map.” The outline in the top map stays centered in the bottom map.

You need basic knowledge of Google Maps interactions to get the most out of this web page.

Specific instructions:

1) Click on the top, “Reference” map to draw an outline. Each click makes a new segment of the outline. Click on Close Outline or End Outline to finish one outline and start a new, disconnected outline.
You can draw a closed outline
(),
or an open outline
(),
or several outlines
().
An outline can have as many points as you want. But if you use a large number of points, your browser may redraw the image slowly.

2) As you draw your outline in the top map, the outline appears at the center of the bottom map. You can drag and zoom the bottom map to anywhere in the world, and the outline stays in the center of the map. The outline keeps the same real-world size as in the top map, so it may become very large or very tiny in the bottom map.

You can use this page to answer questions like these: How big is Manhattan compared to my home town? How big is Texas compared to France? If I put the Golden Gate Bridge in my neighborhood, what landmarks would it overlap?

+ Countries

France versus South Africa

Italy versus Japan

Costa Rica versus Idaho

Venice versus Key West

Israel versus United Kingdom

Australia versus The Sahara

Singapore versus Cyprus

Greenland versus India

Madagascar versus Korea

Cuba versus The Medeterranian

Iraq versus Texas

+ United States

California versus Italy

Texas versus France

Hawaii versus Florida

Alcatraz versus Liberty Island

Devils Tower versus White House

Golden Gate Bridge versus Brooklyn

+ Water

Great Lakes versus Black Sea

Red Sea versus Sea of Cortés

Boston Harbor versus San Francisco Bay

+ Landmarks

London Parks versus Manhattan

Golden Gate Park versus Manhattan

Great Pyramid versus Galveston

Washington Mall versus Tuileries

Ile de la Cité versus New Orleans Superdome

Tiananmen Square versus Red Square

Taj Mahal versus Buckingham Palace

Reference Map

Click on this map to mark the points of an outline. Click on Close Outline or End Outline to finish the current outline. Then click on the map again to start an additional outline. You may draw several outlines. The outlines in this map appear in the center of the Comparison Map (further below), no matter where you navigate in that map.

Controls:MAP - click to enter first point

Enlarge Maps ↓

Total length:n/a Total area:n/a

Comparison Map

Drag this map to move to different parts of the world. Outlines that you drew in the Reference Map (above) appear centered on this map, no matter where you move the map. The outline may change size a bit depending on where you move the map to—see “Shape Distortion” further below.

Enlarge Maps ↓

Permanent URL

Do you want to show your friends what you’ve done? Or do you want to come back to it at a later time? Click the button below to generate a permanent URL associated with current outlines and map views. When you use the generated URL to return to this page, outlines and map views will be restored to their current state.

Notes

Shape Distortion

Your outline’s size or shape may change as you move around on the map. This distortion occurs for two different reasons.

First, Google Maps uses a
Mercator projection
for its maps. By design, this projection distorts distances at different latitudes. Distances are magnified at higher latitudes.

Second, my calculation of comparison marker positions attempts to preserve true distances between markers. These calculations account for the fact that units of longitude have different lengths depending on latitude. The calculations reverse Mercator distortions of horizontal distances.

Related Sites

If you like this page, you might also like some of these:

Mobile-friendly MAPfrappe -
Try the responsive, mobile-friendly version of this web page. Also works nicely on desktop browsers.

Drew’s MAPfrappe index and blog -
Drew is a fan of this site and maintains a publicly shared index of map comparisons. Thanks Drew!

The True Size
- Interact with outlines of selected countries and U.S. states - supports rotation.

Gmaps Pedometer
- Draw a route or outline on a map, and the site tells you the length of the route. The site also lets you associate your route with a permanent URL.

ACME Planimeter
- Draw an outline on a map, and the site tells you the area of the enclosed region.